The present invention relates generally to torque rods used for self-closing doors and, more particularly, to a removable torque rod assembly which may be easily installed on a door and an anchoring device mounted to an underlying door frame in order to provide a selfclosing door, and may be later removed from the door.
In the past, torque rod assemblies have been used to provide door springs for the purpose of keeping doors shut. For example, torque rods having one end connected to a door frame and the other end thereof connected to a door in order to provide sufficient biasing force to close the door after it is opened and then released are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,158,271, issued to Barry on June 19, 1979; 962,426, issued to Hansen on June 28, 1910; and 72,449, issued to Burnham on Dec. 24, 1867. U.S. Pat. No. 1,173,408, issued to Barnes on Feb. 29, 1986, describes a gate having a torque rod installed inside a pivot rail of the gate with the upper end of the rod connected to a block attached to the inside of the rail and the lower end of the rod mounted (unable to rotate) on a member connected to a post adjacent the rail. Torque rods located inside sleeves, having one end coupled or connected to a door and the other end connected to a support are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,109,194, issued to Ray on Nov. 5, 1963; and 132,710, issued to Buckman, Jr. on Nov. 5, 1972.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,078, issued to Stromquist on Sept. 29, 1987, describes a torque rod inside a sleeve having its upper end connected to a door and its lower end mounted on an anchoring device connected to an underlying door frame. As such, the lower end of the torque rod is prevented from rotating by the anchoring device while the upper end is connected to the door and rotates with the door (inside the sleeve) building up torsional forces on the rod which force the door to return to its closed portion. Finally, other torsion devices, hinges or assemblies used to keep doors shut are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,022,536, issued to Floehr on Feb. 27, 1962; 2,676,864, issued to Townsend on Apr. 27, 1954; and 50,411, issued to Young, et al. on Oct. 10, 1865.
All of the above patents disclose torque rod or other spring assemblies which are permanently attached to a door and its corresponding door frame or supporting structure. As a result, the assemblies cannot be easily removed from the door or frame and reused or replaced without causing damage to the door or frame, or expending considerable time, effort or expense to remove the assemblies. In addition, most of the designs disclosed in the above-identified patents are complicated and expensive to manufacture. As such, there is a need for an inexpensive torque rod assembly for use with a self-closing door which may be easily installed on a door and an anchoring device connected to a door frame, and may be subsequently removed from the door and replaced or reused.